The Pragmatic Engineer

The Pragmatic Engineer

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The Pragmatic Engineer
The Scoop #39: Changes in the tech job market
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The Scoop #39: Changes in the tech job market

Also: a historic pushback on RTO at Amazon, Big Tech job-switching stats, and more.

Gergely Orosz's avatar
Gergely Orosz
Feb 23, 2023
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The Pragmatic Engineer
The Pragmatic Engineer
The Scoop #39: Changes in the tech job market
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The Scoop is a bonus series covering insights, patterns, and trends I observe and hear about within Big Tech and at high growth startups. Have a scoop to share? Send me a message! I treat all such messages as anonymous.

The Scoop sometimes delivers firsthand, original reporting. I’m adding an ‘Exclusive’ label to news that features original reporting direct from my sources, as distinct from analysis, opinion, and reaction to events. Of course, I also analyze what’s happening in the tech industry, citing other media sources and quoting them as I dive into trends I observe. These sections do not carry the ‘Exclusive’ mark.

Today's topics are:

  1. Big Tech job-switching stats. Which companies grew their software engineering headcount, which ones shrank, and how has the “open-to-new-opportunities” ratio shifted across Big Tech? I collaborated with a recruiter to find out, and the data is in. Exclusive.

  2. A historical pushback at Amazon on returning to the office. The tech giant joined the ranks in announcing 3 days per week in the office from May. However, this move is facing a pushback I’ve not observed at any other Big Tech giant. I’ve talked with current employees and bring you the details. Plus, expect a spike in PIPs at the tech giant. Exclusive.

  3. Changes in the tech job market during the past month. Observations from the Pragmatic Engineer Talent Collective. Software engineers with experience that used to be rare to see as available to hire are now on the market. Exclusive.

  4. The job market for new grads: worse than in 2008. Insights from the founder of Launch School, Chris Lee, based on his unique observations with access to lots of different companies and engineering departments. Exclusive.

  5. More “traditional” companies going against the tide of cuts. Nintendo and Mercedes-Benz are rewarding staff better than usual, while most tech companies are cutting. Could there be longer-term implications of employers putting staff ahead of finances? Analysis.

1. Big Tech job-switching stats

I have collaborated with a tech recruiter - they’ve asked to be anonymous - who’s been running some very interesting queries on LinkedIn for software engineers. Here are some of the results, visualized.

How software engineer populations have changed across Big Tech:

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